From the Moon to Mars: Honoring Armstrong and Looking to the Future

Retired astronaut Neil Armstrong was remembered at a public memorial service held yesterday (Sept. 13) at the Washington National Cathedral, and I wanted to share some thoughts ranging from the historic landing on the moon to future exploration on Mars.

First, here's a tribute video of Armstrong, the commander of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon (it also is can be found the NASA website here in an article about the memorial service):

Who is Ayn Rand? Plus: What You Likely Didn't Know About the GOP Nomination Process

Ayn Rand (Image from Wikipedia)

Science fiction author Ayn Rand has been in the news lately since U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan was selected by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as who he would want to be the vice presidential nominee if he is elected as the Republican presidential nominee. (See portion below on the nomination process to explain why I worded this sentence as such.)

Ryan has been criticized for his past affinity of Rand's work. Reports say that Rand was the reason he went into public service and that he even tried to get his interns to read her work. (www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79597.html)

So who is Ayn Rand?

Ray Bradbury's spark remains after death

Ray Bradbury (Image from Wikipedia)

"Fahrenheit 451" cover (Wikipedia image)

Science fiction/fantasy author Ray Bradbury died Tuesday at age 91, but the fire he kindled since writing "Fahrenheit 451" will never burn out. You see, Bradbury was always writing, even when he used a wheelchair after suffering a stroke in 1999. I find this tremendous passion for writing inspiring. Even after his death, his flame has not burned out; it has only sparked the fiery passion for writing in people across the world.

From that library he spent about 49 hours writing his famed "Fahrenheit 451" novel (at 10 cents each half-hour for renting a typewriter) to about 600 short stories later, Bradbury has captured the imagination of scores of people and will live on as long as his stories do. It's unfortunate that he died but fitting that he did so during the rare transit of Venus, which won't occur again for 105 years.

What are your thoughts about Ray Bradbury?

Reid Review: The Hunger Games Movie — Digested

I recently watched "The Hunger Games" movie and wasn't that impressed. I may be in the minority with that opinion, so read on and enjoy a trailer of the movie at the end.

Libertarianism Is No Stranger to Science Fiction

The Republican presidential hopefuls have been in the news for quite some time now (minus the lesser known ones: Fred Karger, Andy Martin and Jimmy McMillan), and the media coverage certainly has been hectic.

Photo of Ron Paul's from Wikipedia.

Image from Wikipedia.

The newest media craze is Super Tuesday on March 6, and one of the states -- Virginia -- only has two of the hopefuls on its ballot: former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney and Congressman Ron Paul (sorry Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich). Of them, Paul is considered by many in the media as an outcast. Although he is a Republican (he has been elected as such 12 times), he differs from them on issues such as his nonintervention stance (not isolationisim as many people claim).

So what does this have to do with science fiction? Well, he also is a libertarian, and libertarianism is no stranger to science fiction. The genre is full of libertarian views such as H.G. Wells' Men Like Gods, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four; Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged; Robert A. Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (plus much of what he writes); and Larry Niven's, Jerry Pournelle's and Michael Flynn's Fallen Angels, among many others.

Have you read any of them? The stories are usually about an individual seeking liberty from a suppressed society. Although societies in the stories often are taken to the extreme for readership appeal, the libertarian philosophy is prevalent among science fiction stories, and you may not have even known it.

So what do you think about libertarian science fiction? Do you like it, hate it or don't care as long as you're entertained?

Is 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace' Worth Watching in 3D?

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is coming out in 3D on Feb. 10, so is it worth seeing again in theaters?

The movie is acknowledged (even by creator George Lucas) as the worst one in the film series, but I may be a sucker to watch it again since I didn't mind watching it on VHS back in the day. Although I usually skip out on watching the modified versions of the Star Wars films (even the one with CG Yoda in this film, which is welcomed), I'm interested in seeing how Lucasfilm handled the 3D effects (woe is me).

To be honest, I was more interested in seeing Lucas' Red Tails movie, but after reading the reviews (in which the movie was rated lower than the Phantom Menace), I may just wait until it comes to DVD (yeah, I don't have Blu-ray player) or just watch The Tuskegee Airmen (1995). I can't do the same for Phantom Menace in 3D, though, unless I buy a 3D TV (not likely for years!).

So, anyway, do you think The Phantom Menace is worth watching in theaters in 3D?

Below is a 2D trailer of the film. It shows the good parts and mostly leaves Jar Jar Binks out of it (he makes an appearance very briefly, but can you find him?).

Well I Never Blogfest

The blog Rambles & Randomness recently posted a "Well I Never Blogfest" so I'm going to give it a try with experiences related to science fiction (better late than never!).

Well ...

• I never bought a copy of the Battlefield Earth movie after watching it in theaters, but I did buy the book and read it.
• I never knew that a 32X game I own called Spider-Man: Web of Fire is worth more than $100 until today.
• I never read Isaac Asimov's Foundation books although own some of the books and want to read them someday (I have too many books to read as it is).
• I never could get into Dune. I'm sorry.
• I never dressed up as a character at science fiction conventions, although I did enjoy seeing Darth Vader.

That's all I can think of right now. Also, as a reminder, December is "Reid Kemper's Blog Swap Month," so check out my previous post to learn about it and sign up!